Life after the Moncloa

SPAIN’s Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has been Prime Minister of Spain for eight years, but what does the future hold for him now he is leaving Madrid’s Moncloa Palace?

He has often said he wished to return to his city of origin, Leon, but he has rented a house on the outskirts of Madrid which he will share with his wife and two daughters which occupying a position in the Council of State.

He will continue to be the Socialist Party leader until February.

Defence Minister Carme Chacon and the former vice-president, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba are the two candidates to take his place. Until then, Rubalcaba will be the socialist president in the Chamber of Deputies and will respond to the elected Prime Minister, the conservative Partido Popular’s Mariano Rajoy, in his investiture debate.

Chacon will also remain in the Chamber of Deputies along with former ministers Manuel Chaves, Trinidad Jimenez, Francisco Caamaño, Antonio Camacho, Valeriano Gomez, Ramon Jauregui, Leire Pajin and Rosa Aguilar.

Photo credit: Gustavo Bravo